The Engineer's Union
by Jen19
Summary: **COMPLETED BY IVAN** Trip is held hostage by some temporary insane engineers......................Chapter Two Up!!!
1. Chapter One

DISCLAIMER: Owned by Paramount, blah blah blah.........  
  
NOTE: I don't know if this should be under Parody, Drama, Humour or what, so I just put it under 'General'. You can make up your own minds what category I should've put it under..............  
  
I know this would never happen, and that there's no such gas as Delithium Dioxide. And even if it did exist, I doubt its chemical formula would be D3DL, but, hey, God bless poetic licence!!!  
  
  
  
THE ENGINEER'S UNION - Chapter One.  
  
"What are you doin' up so late?" Trip asked, sitting down next to Hoshi in the Mess Hall. It was the early hours of the morning, and the majority of the crew had long since gone to bed.  
  
"I couldn't sleep," she said, looking up from the PADD she'd been studying. "I was working on this earlier today. I'd given up, but when I went to bed I suddenly realised what I'd been missing." She explained. "I started working on it, but then I really fancied some cheesecake, so I came here." She ate a spoonful of cake. "What about you?"  
  
"The night crew are havin' a bit of a problem, I said I'd help 'em out." He took a sip of coffee and looked at his watch. "Didn't think it'd take this long thought." He frowned and took another sip of coffee.  
  
"Everything OK?" she asked through a mouth full of cheesecake. "With Engineering, I mean." She added, once the cheesecake had been swallowed.  
  
"Yeah, it's just that one of the............."  
  
"Engineering to Commander Tucker." The comm. interrupted.  
  
" 'scuse me," Trip said, walking to the comm. panel. "Tucker."  
  
"Sir, we got a D3DL leak." The voice replied.  
  
"I'm on my way. Tucker out." He said.  
  
"D3DL?" Hoshi asked.  
  
"Ask me later," Trip said, "I gotta run."  
  
Before Hoshi could say goodbye, Trip had left.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Trip entered Main Engineering to find the five crewmen who had been on shift standing in the corner. When he entered, they stopped doing whatever it was they had been doing and turned to face him.  
  
"Where's the leak?" Trip asked.  
  
"We fixed it." Crewman Easton said, smiling. Trip noted that it wasn't a good kind of smile, but more the sort you'd see in a horror film.  
  
"Oh." He said, "Good." He started to head towards the door, feeling a bit uneasy.  
  
"Just a minute, Commander." Crewman McDermott shouted.  
  
Trip turned back to face her. "What?" he asked.  
  
"Come you come and have a look at this, please?" She asked.  
  
"OK." Trip said. He was slightly nervous. All five of them seemed to be acting, well, odd. He dismissed his paranoia as tiredness and walked over to where they were gathered. "What is it?" he asked, looking at the panel.  
  
That was the last thing he remembered doing, before it all went black.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"They've done what!" Archer shouted at his Armoury and Security Officer. He'd been peacefully sleeping when the comm. panel had gone off. They now stood in Archer's quarters.  
  
"They've taken Commander Tucker hostage, Sir." Malcolm repeated.  
  
"Why?" Archer asked, still not quite believing what he was hearing.  
  
"We're not sure, Sir." Malcolm said. "They said they'd only speak to you." Which had annoyed Malcolm incredibly. Not only had he been woken up at an un-Godly hour, he had also gotten dressed, when he could have just stayed in bed.  
  
"What the hell happened down there?" Archer asked.  
  
"We're not entirely sure, Sir," Malcolm began. "From what we can tell, there was a D3DL leak, so Command............."  
  
"D3DL?" Archer interrupted.  
  
"Delithium Dioxide," Malcolm explained. "Commander Tucker was with Ensign Sato in the Mess Hall when he got called to Engineering. He went down to help them fix the leak." Malcolm was silent for a minute. "There is one slight problem, Sir."  
  
"What?" Archer asked, still not quite believing a group of crewmen had kidnapped the Chief Engineer.  
  
"D3DL has some side effects if a high concentration is inhaled in a short period of time."  
  
"What, Malcolm?"  
  
"Well, Sir." Malcolm said, sounding uncomfortable. "It causes temporary insanity."  
  
"Insanity?" Archer asked. Malcolm nodded. "So you're saying Trip is being held hostage by a group of angry, insane Engineers?"  
  
"We don't know if they're angry, Sir."  
  
"That's not the point, Malcolm!" Archer snapped, pacing up and down his room. "How long do the side effects last?"  
  
Malcolm thought for a minute. "Anywhere from a few hours to a few days. It depends on how high the concentration is."  
  
"And we have this stuff onboard Enterprise?" Archer asked, astonished.  
  
"Not intentionally," Malcolm said, "It's a by-product from the warp-coil. It's usually pumped straight out into space and dispersed so it's no harm to anyone."  
  
"But that didn't happen this time." Archer said, thinking. "Wake Sub- Commander T'Pol," Archer headed towards the bathroom. "I'll meet you both down there in five minutes."  
  
"Aye, Sir." Malcolm said, leaving the room.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Trip was vaguely aware of some voices in the distance, but he couldn't be sure. His head was hurting. He tried to move, but found he couldn't. He opened his eyes to see what was restraining him. "What the?" he asked to nobody in particular. He had been sellotaped to a chair located in a corner of Engineering near the door.  
  
"You're awake." Came a voice from the balcony.  
  
Trip twisted his head to see who was speaking, but that only resulted in more pain in his head. "What the hell are you doin'?" He asked.  
  
"Well," replied the voice, "We seem to be holding you here, until our demands are met."  
  
"What?" Trip asked again. He could now see that the voice belonged to Crewman Easton. He walked towards Trip, closely followed by Crewmen McDermott, Harris, Blackwell and Johnson.  
  
"Demands, Commander, Demands!" Easton shouted.  
  
"What demands?" Trip asked. He still had no idea what was going on.  
  
"You treat us like dirt." Blackwell said.  
  
"Just because we're not officers." Harris added.  
  
"What?" Trip asked again. "What the hell are ya talkin' about?"  
  
"You're our bait." McDermott said.  
  
"Bait?" Trip asked. Then he remembered - the D3DL. "'Aw hell."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: That's it for this chapter. Sorry about all the technical crap, but my college cancelled the spacecraft mechanics course I wanted to take, so I'm not quite up to scratch ( !!  
  
Anyway, LYL, Jen.  
  
PS - If ANYBODY knows the max warp of Enterprise in TOS, please email me (jenday85@hotmail.com). I need to know for a new fic I'm planning. (Don't worry, it's not a TOS fic, it is Enterprise!). Anyone who knows, or has a rough idea, please let me know. Somebody out there know the max warp!!! Thanks, Jen. 


	2. Chapter Two

DISCLAIMER: I own it all! And with my army of fictional characters and evil flying monkeys, I shall conquer the WORLD!! (Sarcasm - I own squat!)  
  
NOTE: Some mild swearing in this - I warned you................. I also have realised that they're a little out of character, and that they would just kick the door in or whatever......... see chapter one for comment on 'poetic licence'.  
  
THE ENGINEER'S UNION - Chapter Two.  
  
Archer rounded the corner of D deck and found himself outside Main Engineering. He saw Malcolm and T'Pol, and another security officer whose name he couldn't remember. "Anything happened?"  
  
"Not yet, Sir, no." Malcolm replied.  
  
"Where's Lieutenant Cage?" Archer asked. The Lieutenant was supposed to be covering the night shift.  
  
"He was excused from duty by Doctor Phlox," T'Pol explained. "He is suffering from flu."  
  
"Can't we just go in there and, I don't know.........." Archer waved his hand as if to explain what he was suggesting.  
  
"They have overridden the lock," T'Pol said, "We cannot open the door."  
  
"Sir," Malcolm said, "They're ready to talk."  
  
"OK," Archer said. He walked to the comm. panel. "This is Captain Archer."  
  
"Captain," replied the voice. Archer didn't recognise it. He looked over at Malcolm and shrugged. Malcolm mouthed back the name 'Easton'.  
  
"I understand you're holding Commander Tucker hostage. Can I ask you why?"  
  
"It's perfectly simple, Captain." Easton said. "We want a Union."  
  
"A Union?" Archer asked, looking at T'Pol and Malcolm. "You can set up a Union." He said, turning back to the comm. "It really wasn't necessary to kidnap Commander Tucker."  
  
The comm. went quiet for a few minutes. Archer assumed they must have been talking between themselves. "That's not all," Easton continued. "We want a little respect."  
  
Archer heard who he thought was Trip say something it the background, followed by a woman saying something that sounded a lot like swearing. "I'd like to speak to Mr Tucker, please."  
  
More silence. "OK," Easton said.  
  
Archer could hear the Crewmen talking amongst themselves. There were a few more minutes of silence.  
  
"Cap'n," Trip's voice came over the comm.  
  
"Trip, are you OK?" Archer asked.  
  
"That kinda depends on ya definition of OK,"  
  
Archer heard who he thought was Easton saying something to Trip. "What's going on in there?" He asked.  
  
"Well," Trip said, "They sellotaped me to the chair, and won't let me go 'til ya do what ever the hell it is they want ya to do."  
  
"Sellotaped?" Malcolm asked.  
  
"Yes," Trip replied.  
  
"They've sellotaped you to the chair?" Malcolm asked again.  
  
"Yes." Trip repeated. He could hear Malcolm sniggering in the background. "It's not funny, Malcolm!"  
  
"OK," Archer said, giving Malcolm a 'shut up' look, "Can I speak with Crewman Easton again?"  
  
"Captain?" Easton's voice said over the comm.  
  
"What is it you want, Crewman?" He asked.  
  
"A union."  
  
"We can arrange that," Archer said, "Just let Commander Tucker go, and we'll see what we can do."  
  
There was silence while Easton consulted the rest of the group. "OK," he said finally, "But that's only one demand met. We have another."  
  
Archer waited for him to elaborate. When he didn't, he took it upon himself to ask. "Which is?"  
  
"Respect." Easton said.  
  
Archer didn't particularly like the tone in the younger man's voice. "I'm sorry," he asked, not quite understanding. "Respect?"  
  
"Yeah," Easton replied, curtly. "You know, a 'Thank you' here, a 'You're welcome there'. Not being treated like a piece if crap on the sole of your shoe!"  
  
"You are respected," Archer said. He wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation. In his whole Starfleet career, he'd never - never - heard of anything like this happening. "You've got the respect of the whole crew," he continued. "Being an engineer isn't easy, especially when you're being watched by the Starfleet and the Vulcan's. One little slip up, and, well, it's a hard job. I couldn't do it, I'm sure even sub-commander T'Pol would find it a little difficult."  
  
T'Pol stepped forwards to say something, but was stopped by Malcolm. She looked quizzically at her Captain, then at the Lieutenant, before stepping back.  
  
There was more silence on the comm. "Give us a minute." Easton said. The comm. link went dead.  
  
"How longs it been?" Archer asked Malcolm.  
  
"Just over an hour." Malcolm replied.  
  
"Great," Archer said. "Just great. It's three-thirty in the morning, and the Chief of Engineering is, for some bizarre and unfathomable reason, behing held hostage," he gave up, not knowing how to explain what it was he was trying to say.  
  
"It seems to me that Commander Tucker is perfectly safe," T'Pol said after a moment's silence. "The Crewmen are simply suffering the effects of the D3DL leak. Within a few hours, they shall return to normal and release the Commander."  
  
"Captain."  
  
It took a minute for Archer to realise the voice had come from the comm. panel. He walked over to it. "Archer here. Go ahead." The voice had changed. Archer was pretty sure he was now talking to Crewman Harris.  
  
"We've thought about what you said," Harris said, sounding a bit too callous for Archer liking. "With all due respect, Captain, don't bull-shit us."  
  
"Pardon?" Archer asked. "I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'bull-shit' you." He was loosing his temper now, and that wasn't good. He was tired, and the five crazy people holding his friend hostage weren't helping his mood.  
  
"You don't have to patronise us, either."  
  
Archer could have sworn he heard the man curse under his breath, but let it go. "I'm not doing either," he said, calmly. "I just want you to let Commander Tucker go so we can talk."  
  
"You think we're playing around?" Harris asked. Before Archer could answer, he continued his rant. "Think this is just some kind of game? Do you Captain? You just sit in your big chair all day telling others what to do. Do you actually know what its like? It's easy for you. Everybody thinks about the poor Captain. Boo-hoo. Nobody thinks about us poor Engineers. And do you wanna know something, Captain?"  
  
"What?" Archer asked. It was all he could manage to say; he was still in shock after Harris' speech.  
  
"Without us, you God damned ship wouldn't even work." Harris said. "You think this is a game?" he asked again.  
  
"No, I don't. I think.................."  
  
"I can prove it's not a game," Harris interrupted. "Do it."  
  
Archer assumed the last part of the sentence wasn't directed at him, but rather somebody in the room. He shot a worried look at Malcolm, who looked equally as panicked as Archer. He looked at T'Pol, who simply had one eyebrow raised. Even the security officer whose name he still couldn't remember looked concerned.  
  
Archer was about to say something when they heard a scream from inside Engineering. Archer froze. He recognised the voice. It was Trip. Trip was screaming and he couldn't help...................  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Chapter two completed.  
  
Still can't decide what the hell this story should be categorised under - drama, parody, humour (although there's less of that than I originally though they're be.....never mind!).  
  
Don't go worrying either - they haven't killed Trip or anything. I'd never do that ;).  
  
Anyway, LYL, Jen. 


	3. Chapter Three

DISCLAIMER: Not mine - don't sue.........  
  
NOTE: Are there still screwdrivers/wrenches in the future? Probably not. But it was the only thing I could think of that would be in Engineering and is kinda pointy!  
  
And for who ever it was that reviewed and asked what TOS meant - The Original Series (now I've said that, I bet it doesn't.........DOH!!)  
  
  
  
THE ENGINEER'S UNION - Chapter Three.  
  
"Trip!" Archer shouted through the door of Main Engineering. "Trip! Are you OK?"  
  
There was no answer. The screaming had stopped. It seemed to Archer to last forever, although he knew in reality it'd only been a seconds.  
  
"Perfectly safe?" Malcolm asked, turning to T'Pol. He walked over to Archer. "Sir?"  
  
Archer looked at him.  
  
"We could try and get the door down."  
  
Archer thought for a minute. "Do it."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What have you done!" Johnson said, looking from the unconscious Commander to Blackwell.  
  
"Harris said too," Blackwell replied.  
  
"You idiot!" McDermott said, walking over to the Commander. "We are so dead."  
  
"Calm down, for God's sake," Harris said, walking to stand next to Easton. "Easton an I agree, don't we?"  
  
"On what?" Easton asked, looking from the unconscious man to Harris.  
  
"You know," Harris prompted him.  
  
"No, I don't," He said, shaking his head. "I don't think I do. And I don't think I agree with you anymore." He looked at Trip. "This is wrong."  
  
Harris was about to protest but was cut off by Blackwell. "They're right," he said. "What have we done?"  
  
All of them, bar Harris, walked towards the door. "Where are you going?" Harris asked them.  
  
"This is wrong, Harris." Johnson said, turning back to face him. "I personally don't wanna spend the rest of the journey in the Brig. I'm going."  
  
"Me too." McDermott said, standing next to Johnson. Blackwell and Easton nodded.  
  
"So you're all leaving?" Harris asked. They nodded. "You little chicken shits." He said, starting towards them.  
  
What happened next happened so quickly, the five Crewmen didn't have time to react.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malcolm had managed to get the door to Main Engineering to open. The five Crewmen, after being checked out by Doctor Phlox, had been sent to their quarters where they were to wait for their appropriate punishment. Trip had been brought to Sickbay, where he now lay on a bio-bed.  
  
"So he'll be OK?" Archer asked Phlox.  
  
"He'll be a bit sore, but he'll be fine." Phlox said, smiling at the Captain. He walked over to his workstation to give the two some privacy.  
  
Archer walked over to the bio-bed and sat down in the chair Phlox had placed next to it. "Trip," Archer said softly. "You awake?"  
  
"Yeah," Trip replied, quietly.  
  
"How ya feeling?"  
  
"How'd ya think?"  
  
"Phlox said you should be OK in a couple of days," Archer continued, ignoring the sarcastic tone in his friend's voice. "Your shoulder should be healed by then. You've got a hairline skull fracture. That'll be sore for a few of days, but there's not much he can do there."  
  
"What?" Trip asked, with a look of utter confusion of his face.  
  
"They stabbed you in the shoulder," Archer said, trying to jog Trip's memory. Archer saw that hadn't helped much, and that the Engineer was still looking perplexed. "With the screwdriver............."  
  
"Oh," Trip said. He was quiet for a minute. "Who?"  
  
"You don't remember?" Archer asked, concerned.  
  
"Not really." Trip said, trying to sit up. He decided against it when he felt a bolt of pain shoot down his left arm. "Ow," he said, lying back down.  
  
"There was D3DL leak in Engineering last night. Crewmen Easton, Harris, Blackwell, Johnson and McDermott were affected." Archer explained. "They took you hostage. They stabbed you in the shoulder, then hit you over the head with a wrench."  
  
"Great," Trip said, sighing. "Just great."  
  
"You OK?" Archer asked.  
  
"Yeah," Trip said. "It's just that, well........" Trip shook his head, but soon regretted.  
  
"What?" Archer asked, leaning back in the chair.  
  
"In a hundred years time, what'll people remember you for?"  
  
Archer was taken aback by this question. Not able to think of an answer, he shook his head.  
  
"People'll remember you as the first Captain of a wrap five ship. T'Pol'll just be T'Pol. Hoshi's the first Human to speak Klingon and God knows how many other languages. I'm sure Malcolm and Travis'll come up with something to be remembered by. What about me?"  
  
Archer, again not knowing what to say, shrugged.  
  
"I'll tell ya." Trip said, "I'll be the guy that got preganent, the guy who got sellotaped to a chair. I'll be..........I dunno!"  
  
"You saved the ship from pirates." Archer pointed out.  
  
"I was in my underwear!"  
  
"That's not the point, Trip," Archer said, standing. "You're the first Chief Engineer. You're probably one of the best Engineer's Earth has to offer. You're defiantly the best Starfleet has."  
  
"I still got knocked up."  
  
"That doesn't matter," Archer said sitting back down. "It's kinda interesting, really." Trip raised his eyebrows. "Oh, come on," Archer said. "You're just tired. Get some sleep." He said, standing. "I'll come and se you later."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So what do we do with them, Sir?" Malcolm asked Archer.  
  
It had been a full day since the Engineering incident, and they now had to decide how to punish the five people involved. "Commander Tucker doesn't seem to bothered about it." Archer said. "I think, maybe a good telling off will do."  
  
"Sir!" Malcolm protested. "The held a senior officer captive. I think maybe a little more that a 'good telling off' is in order."  
  
"It wasn't their fault, Malcolm." Archer said.  
  
"It was still insubordination." Malcolm muttered under his breath.  
  
"Pardon, Mr Reed?" Archer asked, knowing full well what the younger man had said.  
  
"I said they were still insubordinate, sir." Malcolm repeated louder.  
  
"If they had been of sound mind, then yes, I'd agree," Archer said. "Anyway, Trip doesn't want to do anything, so we wont."  
  
"Very well, Sir." Malcolm said. "May I return to the bridge?"  
  
"Yes," Archer said. After Malcolm had gone, he turned to his computer to log his report.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I'm sure, Malcolm." Trip said. He had been discharged from Sickbay, but was still excused from duty for the next few days.  
  
"Ok, fine." Malcolm said, defeated. "It's your choice."  
  
"Well, what'd you do?" Trip asked.  
  
"I don't know." Reed confessed. "I still can't believe they used a screwdriver." Malcolm said. "Of all the things.........."  
  
"I'll have you know that hurt," Trip said. "Anyway, it's all over now. I can't do anything 'bout it."  
  
"I can't believe they got the Union," Malcolm said, not paying attention to what had just been said by Trip.  
  
"Well, Cap'n Archer promised, so they got it." Trip said.  
  
Malcolm nodded silently. "When are you back on duty?" He asked.  
  
"Three days." Trip said without thinking much about the answer.  
  
"How do you feel?" Malcolm asked.  
  
"I'm OK, thanks. My head still kinda hurts if I move it too fast, but other than that, I'm fine."  
  
They sat in silence for a few minutes.  
  
"Well," Malcolm said, standing. "I best be getting back to work."  
  
"Yeah," Trip said, standing and following Malcolm to the door. "I'll see ya later." He said as Malcolm left. Trip closed the door and moved to his computer to record his personal log.  
  
  
  
THE END.  
  
  
  
A/N: If you think that writing was a little different from the other chapters, it is. I'm not Jenichia! (She only wrote the first part of this chapter.)  
  
Hello! I'm Ivan - her little brother. Jen's had to go on a Course Work Trip with her course at university, and gave me a brief of what to write. I don't know if I was supposed to post it or not, but I did, and it's here!  
  
If you don't like it, sorry. I'm not sure if this is what she wanted to have happen, but hey! If it's wrong, I'm sure she'll reload it or whatever.  
  
I best go - homework calls. Bye for now! Ivan XxXxXxX 


End file.
